different between foul vs bitter

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: foul, IPA^(key): /fa?l/
• Rhymes: -a?l
• Homophone: fowl
• Rhymes: -a??l

Etymology 1

From Middle English foul, from Old English f?l (“foul, unclean, impure, vile, corrupt, rotten, guilty”), from Proto-Germanic *f?laz (“foul, rotten”), from Proto-Indo-European *puH- (“to rot”). Cognate with Dutch vuil (“foul”), German faul (“rotten, putrid”), Danish and Swedish ful (“foul”), and through Indo-European, with Albanian fëlliq (“to make dirty”), Latin puter (“rotten”). More at putrid.

Ancient Greek ?????? (phaûlos, “bad”) is a false cognate inasmuch as it is not from the same etymon, instead being cognate to few.

Adjective

foul (comparative fouler, superlative foulest)

1. Covered with, or containing unclean matter; dirty.

2. (of words or a way of speaking) obscene, vulgar or abusive.

3. Detestable, unpleasant, loathsome.
   • c. 1610-11, William Shakespeare, The Tempest, Act II scene ii^[1]:

     […] Hast thou forgot / The foul witch Sycorax, who with age and envy / Was grown into a hoop? Hast thou forgot her?
4. Disgusting, repulsive; causing disgust.

5. (obsolete) Ugly; homely; poor.
6. (of the weather) Unpleasant, stormy or rainy.
7. Dishonest or not conforming to the established rules and customs of a game, conflict, test, etc.

8. (nautical) Entangled and therefore restricting free movement, not clear.

9. (baseball) Outside of the base lines; in foul territory.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "foul" is often applied: play, ball, language, breath, smell, odor, water, weather, deed.

Synonyms

• (hateful, detestable): shameful; odious; wretched

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 2

From Middle English foulen, fulen, from Old English f?lian (“to become foul; rot; decay”), from Proto-Germanic *f?l?n? (“to rot; decay”).

Verb

foul (third-person singular simple present fouls, present participle fouling, simple past and past participle fouled)

1. (transitive) To make dirty.

   to foul the face or hands with mire

   She's fouled her diaper.

2. (transitive) To besmirch.

   He's fouled his reputation.

3. (transitive) To clog or obstruct.
4. (transitive, nautical) To entangle.
   • 1941, Emily Carr, Klee Wyck, Chapter 18, [2]

     The Indian's heart was sore for his boat; it looked as if nothing could save her. She was drifting more slowly now, her propeller fouled in kelp.

   The kelp has fouled the prop.

5. (transitive, basketball) To make contact with an opposing player in order to gain advantage.

   Smith fouled him hard.

6. (transitive, baseball) To hit outside of the baselines.

   Jones fouled the ball off the facing of the upper deck.

7. (intransitive) To become clogged.

   The drain fouled.

8. (intransitive) To become entangled.

   The prop fouled on the kelp.

9. (intransitive, basketball) To commit a foul.

   Smith fouled within the first minute of the quarter.

10. (intransitive, baseball) To hit a ball outside of the baselines.

    Jones fouled for strike one.

Derived terms

• foul one's own nest

Translations

Noun

foul (plural fouls)

1. (sports) A breach of the rules of a game, especially one involving inappropriate contact with an opposing player in order to gain an advantage; for example, tripping someone up in soccer, or contact of any kind in basketball.
2. (bowling) A (usually accidental) contact between a bowler and the lane before the bowler has released the ball.
3. (baseball) A foul ball, a ball which has been hit outside of the base lines.

   Jones hit a foul up over the screen.

Descendants

• ? Russian: ??? (fol)

Translations

See also

• foul fish

Further reading

• foul in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• foul in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
• foul at OneLook Dictionary Search

Anagrams

• fluo-

German

Verb

foul

1. singular imperative of foulen
2. (colloquial) first-person singular present of foulen

Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old French fol.

Noun

foul

1. Alternative form of fole (“fool”)

Etymology 2

From Old English fugol.

Noun

foul

1. Alternative form of fowel

English

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?b?t?/, [?b?t??], (colloquially also) [?b???]
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?b?t??/, [?b???]
• Hyphenation: bit?ter
• Rhymes: -?t?(r)
• Homophone: bidder (in some dialects)

Etymology 1

From Middle English bitter, bittre, from Old English bitter, biter (“bitter”), from Proto-West Germanic *bit(t)r, from Proto-Germanic *bitraz (“bitter”), equivalent to bite +? -er (adjectival suffix). Compare Saterland Frisian bitter (“bitter”), West Frisian bitter (“bitter”), Dutch bitter (“bitter”), Low German bitter (“bitter”), German bitter (“bitter”), Swedish bitter (“bitter”), Icelandic bitur (“bitter”).

Adjective

bitter (comparative bitterer or more bitter, superlative bitterest or most bitter)

1. Having an acrid taste (usually from a basic substance).

   • Long after his cigar burnt bitter, he sat with eyes fixed on the blaze. When the flames at last began to flicker and subside, his lids fluttered, then drooped; but he had lost all reckoning of time when he opened them again to find Miss Erroll in furs and ball-gown kneeling on the hearth […].

   • 2018 May 16, Adam Rogers, Wired, "The Fundamental Nihilism of Yanny vs. Laurel":

     A few types of molecules get sensed by receptors on the tongue. Protons coming off of acids ping receptors for "sour." Sugars get received as "sweet." Bitter, salty, and the proteinaceous flavor umami all set off their own neural cascades.

2. Harsh, piercing or stinging.
   • 1999, Neil Gaiman, Stardust, p.31 (Perennial paperback edition)

     It was at the end of February, […] when the world was cold, and a bitter wind howled down the moors […].

3. Hateful or hostile.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling

     He inveighed against the folly of making oneself liable for the debts of others; vented many bitter execrations against the brother; and concluded with wishing something could be done for the unfortunate family.
4. Cynical and resentful.

Usage notes

• The one-word comparative form bitterer and superlative form bitterest exist, but are less common than their two-word counterparts more bitter and most bitter.

Synonyms

• (cynical and resentful): jaded

Antonyms

• (cynical and resentful): optimistic

Derived terms

• bitter pill to swallow
• bittersome

Descendants

• Sranan Tongo: bita

Translations

See also

• bitter end

Noun

bitter (countable and uncountable, plural bitters)

1. (usually in the plural bitters) A liquid or powder, made from bitter herbs, used in mixed drinks or as a tonic.
   • 1773, Oliver Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer

     Thus I begin: "All is not gold that glitters,

     "Pleasure seems sweet, but proves a glass of bitters.

2. A type of beer heavily flavored with hops.
3. (nautical) A turn of a cable about the bitts.

Synonyms

• (beer): English pale ale, EPA

Derived terms

• brought up to a bitter

Translations

Verb

bitter (third-person singular simple present bitters, present participle bittering, simple past and past participle bittered)

1. To make bitter.

   (Can we find and add a quotation of Wolcott to this entry?)

Etymology 2

bit +? -er

Noun

bitter (plural bitters)

1. (computing, informal, in combination) A hardware system whose architecture is based around units of the specified number of bits (binary digits).
   • 1983, Computerworld (volume 17, number 49, page 21)

     However, 16-bitters are far more expensive than the 8-bit variety. And, unfortunately, have only a handful of business applications software packages that really take advantage of them.

   • 1984, Electronic Business (volume 10, page 154)

     The company believes that the 32-bit market will almost equal that of 16-bitters by the end of the decade. Chip maker Zilog Inc., not a major player in the 16-bit arena, is even more bullish about 32-bitters as it readies its own version for market.

Danish

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle Low German bitter.

Adjective

bitter

1. bitter (all meanings)

Inflection

Related terms

• bitterhed
• forbitret

Noun

bitter c (singular definite bitteren, plural indefinite bittere)

1. bitter (the liquid used in drinks)
2. A bitter form of an aquavit

Inflection

Etymology 2

Borrowed from English bitter.

Noun

bitter c

1. bitter (type of beer - only known generally in Denmark for a few years)

Dutch

Etymology

From Middle Dutch bitter, from Old Dutch bitter, from Proto-West Germanic *bit(t)r, from Proto-Germanic *bitraz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?b?t?r/
• Hyphenation: bit?ter
• Rhymes: -?t?r

Adjective

bitter (comparative bitterder, superlative bitterst)

1. bitter (having an acrid taste)
2. bitter, embittered

Inflection

Derived terms

• verbitteren

Related terms

• verbitterd

Descendants

• Afrikaans: bitter

See also

• (tastes) smaak; bitter, zoet, zout, zuur ^{(Category: nl:Taste)}

Noun

bitter m or n (plural bitters, diminutive bittertje n)

1. A type of strong spirits made by steeping (often bitter) herbs in brandy or jenever, traditionally considered a digestive drink.

Usage notes

When used in a countable sense (a serving of bitter), the diminutive is the usual form.

Derived terms

• bitterbal
• oranjebitter
• kruidenbitter

Synonyms

• kruidenbitter

Descendants

• Afrikaans: bitter
• ? Sranan Tongo: bita

Further reading

• The article Bitters on Wikipedia

Finnish

Noun

bitter

1. bitter (type of beer)

Declension

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi.te/

Verb

bitter

1. (transitive, slang) to understand, usually used in negative form and especially with rien.

Conjugation

Synonyms

• comprendre

German

Etymology

From Middle High German bitter, pitter, from Old High German bittar, from Proto-West Germanic *bit(t)r, from Proto-Germanic *bitraz. Compare Low German bitter, Dutch bitter, English bitter, Swedish bitter, Icelandic bitur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?b?.t?/

Adjective

bitter (comparative bitterer, superlative am bittersten)

1. bitter

(tastes) Geschmack; bitter, salzig, sauer, süß ^{(Category: de:Taste)}

Declension

Derived terms

• bitterkalt
• bittersüß
• Bitterkeit
• verbittern

Adverb

bitter

1. bitterly

Synonyms

• verbittert

Further reading

• “bitter” in Duden online
• “bitter” in Digitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache
• “bitter” in Deutsches Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, 16 vols., Leipzig 1854–1961.

Italian

Etymology

From English bitters

Noun

bitter m (invariable)

1. bitters

Middle Dutch

Etymology

From Old Dutch bitter, from Proto-West Germanic *bit(t)r, from Proto-Germanic *bitraz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?b?t??r/

Adjective

bitter

1. bitter (taste)
2. sad, painful

Inflection

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Dutch: bitter
• Limburgish: bitter

Further reading

• “bitter”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E.; Verdam, J. (1885–1929) , “bitter”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, ?ISBN

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Middle Low German bitter and Old Norse bitr

Adjective

bitter (neuter singular bittert, definite singular and plural bitre, comparative bitrere, indefinite superlative bitrest, definite superlative bitreste)

1. bitter

Derived terms

• bitterhet

References

• “bitter” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Middle Low German bitter and Old Norse bitr

Adjective

bitter (neuter singular bittert, definite singular and plural bitre, comparative bitrare, indefinite superlative bitrast, definite superlative bitraste)

1. bitter

References

• “bitter” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?bit.ter/

Adjective

bitter

1. Alternative form of biter

Declension

Old High German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?bit.ter/

Adjective

bitter

1. Alternative form of bittar

References

• Joseph Wright, An Old High German Primer

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse bitr (partly through the influence of Middle Low German bitter), from Proto-Germanic *bitraz.

Pronunciation

Adjective

bitter (comparative bittrare, superlative bittrast)

1. bitter; having an acrid taste
2. bitter; hateful
3. bitter; resentful

Declension

Anagrams

• bittre